Rebecca Maynard is University Trustee Professor of Education and Social Policy at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012, Dr. Maynard returned to the University of Pennsylvania, following a two-year leave to serve as Commissioner of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) at the Institute of Education Sciences. She is a leading expert in the design and conduct of randomized controlled trials in the areas of education and social policy, has conducted influential methodological research, and recently published open-ware tools to support the efficient design of rigorous impact evaluations. Dr. Maynard has been a leader in the development and application of methods for conducting systematic reviews of evidence on program effectiveness, including serving on the technical review team during the design and development of the What Works Clearinghouse and being active in the workgroup that laid the groundwork for the Campbell Collaboration.

She is a Fellow of the American Education Research Association (AERA); past president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM); recipient of the Peter H. Rossi Award for Contributions to the Theory and Practice of Program Evaluation (2009); co-recipient of the Society of Prevention Research (SPR) Public Service Award (2008); and recipient of the Best Book Award, Society for Research on Adolescents (SRA) (1998). Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 1993, she was Senior Vice President at Mathematica Policy Research.